The present invention relates to a shelf for supporting articles and which is intended to be fixed or mounted, in a horizontal or approximately horizontal position, in the chassis of a unit. In particular, it relates to a shelf that can be used in refrigerated compartments (refrigerated cabinets, chillers, refrigerators, etc.) for supporting articles, particularly food.
In domestic refrigerators, it is known practice to use shelves in the form of solid plates made of plastic or glass, such plates being simple to clean, hygienic and able to support all kinds of foodstuffs. These plates are usually equipped with a plastic surround that makes it possible to avoid the risk of injury on the sharp edges of the plates and/or makes it possible to strengthen said plates. Precise and attractive production of this surround making it possible to guarantee a good seal between the surround and the plate consists in injecting the plastic around the periphery of the plate placed in a mold so that it sandwiches (or embraces) the plate, gripping it on its edge and on its top face and underside. This is the “encapsulation” method. The material may also be injected around shelf support elements allowing this shelf to be mounted in the refrigerator. Encapsulation does, however, require specific installations limited to each type of shelf produced, may be complicated, and expensive, it also being possible for the shelves obtained to have disadvantages (limited ability to adapt to various types of structure, etc.).
It is also known practice to form the plastic surround independently of the plate (attached surround) and then for the two to be secured together by bonding (gluing). This method has advantages in terms of simplicity, cost, ease of adaptation, etc., but may pose problems in terms of the robustness or longevity of the assembly and/or of appearance and/or of sealing.